Computerized wagering games have largely replaced traditional mechanical wagering game machines such as slot machines, and are rapidly being adopted to implement computerized versions of games that are traditionally played live such as poker and blackjack. These computerized games provide many benefits to the game owner and to the gambler, including greater reliability than can be achieved with a mechanical game or human dealer, more variety, sound, and animation in presentation of a game, and a lower overall cost of production and management.
The elements of computerized wagering game systems are in many ways the same as the elements in the mechanical and table game counterparts in that they must be fair, they must provide sufficient feedback to the game player to make the game fun to play, and they must meet a variety of gaming regulations to ensure that both the machine owner and gamer are honest and fairly treated in implementing the game. Further, they must provide a gaming experience that is at least as attractive as the older mechanical gaming machine experience to the gamer, to ensure success in a competitive gaming market.
Computerized wagering games do not rely on the dealer or other game players to facilitate game play and to provide an entertaining game playing environment, but rely upon the presentation of the game and environment generated by the wagering game machine itself. Incorporation of audio and video features into wagering games to present the wagering game, to provide help, and to enhance the environment presented are therefore important elements in the attractiveness and commercial success of a computerized wagering game system. Presentation of the wagering game often includes animation, video, and three-dimensional graphics, in addition to sophisticated multichannel audio music and sound effects.
Player preferences regarding such things as multimedia preferences, progress in a game, and amount of money wagered can be stored in a nonvolatile storage device such as a USB flash drive that the user can carry and insert in a wagering game system before or during play. Such devices can also be used to carry multimedia or new code to a wagering game system, such as to update the executable game code or change the video or sound presented during a wagering game. But because a user or game technician can freely insert or remove such a nonvolatile storage device at any time, there is a risk that it will be removed while data transfer to or from the nonvolatile storage device is in process or incomplete.
It is therefore desired that use of a removable or hot-pluggable nonvolatile storage device be managed in a wagering game system.